a. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to containers. In particular this invention relates to bottles having an outer cardboard shell and an inner lining or pouch and to a method of manufacture of such bottles.
b. Related Art
There is a general desire and need to reduce the amount of waste that is produced and a drive to recycle as much as possible. One particular area that is receiving a lot of attention is containers for food and drink.
Traditionally wine has been stored and sold in glass bottles. The glass used is relatively heavy and typically makes up about 40% of the weight of the filled bottle of wine. This means that the transportation costs are high.
Furthermore, glass breaks relatively easily when, for example, a bottle is dropped. The bottle will typically break into sharp fragments which may cause injury to a consumer.
It is known to make a bottle having a pulp moulded cardboard outer shell and a blow moulded inner plastics lining. Although these containers have a decreased weight compared to glass bottles, they have a number of disadvantages. The shelf life of the wine within the bottles is decreased compared to glass bottles, it is difficult to apply print to the outer surface of the bottle and the unit cost of manufacture is typically significantly greater than the unit cost of a glass bottle.
It is, therefore, an object of the present invention to provide an improved bottle that overcomes at least some of the disadvantages of previous bottle designs.